Many portable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and digital cameras, input, process, and store data. The data may then be downloaded or otherwise transferred to a data processing device, such as a personal computer, for further processing. One method of transferring data from the electronic device to a computer is by the use of a removable memory device or memory card that stores data generated by the electronic device. The removable memory device may be removed from the electronic device and connected to a computer, which effectively transfers the data to the computer.
As described above, electronic devices process and store data. The processing and storage of data requires memory, such as a random access memory and often a cache memory, or simply a cache, to operate efficiently. The random access memory may, as an example, be flash memory that is used to store data. In the embodiment of the electronic device being a digital camera, the flash memory may store image data representative of images captured by the digital camera. In the embodiment of the electronic device being a PDA, the random access memory may store data, such as database information that is to be revised or updated by the PDA. The cache is used as temporary data storage during the execution of a program. The data stored in the cache is typically data that is repeatedly accessed during the execution of the program. The random access memory is typically located on the removable memory device. Accordingly, the memory capabilities of the electronic device are limited by the memory capabilities of the removable memory device.
As the processing capabilities of electronic devices increase, their available memory sizes must be increased in order to maintain the optimal performance of the electronic devices. For example, the software that operates an electronic device may be improved, which may require more memory in order to operate optimally. Likewise, the cache size may also need to be increased accordingly. Increasing the available memory may be accomplished by replacing the removable memory device with one having a greater amount of memory. However, the cost of the removable memory devices tends to be relatively expensive. Thus, increasing the available memory of the electronic device may be prohibitively costly.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome all or some of the above-described problems.